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The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized—and sometimes outraged—millions of readers.

First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads—driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck’s powerful landmark novel is perhaps the most American of American Classics.

This Centennial edition, specially designed to commemorate one hundred years of Steinbeck, features french flaps and deckle-edged pages.

For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When The Grapes of Wrath was published in 1939, America, still recovering from the Great Depression, came face to face with itself in a startling, lyrical way. John Steinbeck gathered the country's recent shames and devastations--the Hoovervilles, the desperate, dirty children, the dissolution of kin, the oppressive labor conditions--in the Joad family. Then he set them down on a westward-running road, local dialect and all, for the world to acknowledge. For this marvel of observation and perception, he won the Pulitzer in 1940.

The prize must have come, at least in part, because alongside the poverty and dispossession, Steinbeck chronicled the Joads' refusal, even inability, to let go of their faltering but unmistakable hold on human dignity. Witnessing their degeneration from Oklahoma farmers to a diminished band of migrant workers is nothing short of crushing. The Joads lose family members to death and cowardice as they go, and are challenged by everything from weather to the authorities to the California locals themselves. As Tom Joad puts it: "They're a-workin' away at our spirits. They're a tryin' to make us cringe an' crawl like a whipped bitch. They tryin' to break us. Why, Jesus Christ, Ma, they comes a time when the on'y way a fella can keep his decency is by takin' a sock at a cop. They're workin' on our decency."

The point, though, is that decency remains intact, if somewhat battle-scarred, and this, as much as the depression and the plight of the "Okies," is a part of American history. When the California of their dreams proves to be less than edenic, Ma tells Tom: "You got to have patience. Why, Tom--us people will go on livin' when all them people is gone. Why, Tom, we're the people that live. They ain't gonna wipe us out. Why, we're the people--we go on." It's almost as if she's talking about the very novel she inhabits, for Steinbeck's characters, more than most literary creations, do go on. They continue, now as much as ever, to illuminate and humanize an era for generations of readers who, thankfully, have no experiential point of reference for understanding the depression. The book's final, haunting image of Rose of Sharon--Rosasharn, as they call her--the eldest Joad daughter, forcing the milk intended for her stillborn baby onto a starving stranger, is a lesson on the grandest scale. "'You got to,'" she says, simply. And so do we all. --Melanie Rehak

From Library Journal

Journey with the Joads for 21 hours in this first unabridged version of Steinbeck's classic. Controversial, even shocking, when it was written, the work continues to be so even today. The keen listener can hear why, because it poses fundamental questions about justice, the ownership and stewardship of the land, the role of government, power, and the very foundations of capitalist society. As history, this brings the Dust Bowl years to life in a most memorable way. Steinbeck (Travels with Charley, Audio Reviews, LJ 11/15/94) is a master storyteller and manages to engage the listener's sympathy with this epic story. Reader Dylan Baker, who gives each character a distinctive voice, draws the listener in. His female characters, especially the minor ones and Rose of Sharon, don't seem as authentic as his wonderful evocation of the fictional Tom, Ma, and Pa. But his voice is easy to listen to, and he is faithful to the characters' backgrounds and the plains region. The music that ends each individual tape is perfect for the story. This program is a well-produced, affordable, and worthwhile addition for any library with a serious audiobook collection.?Nancy Paul, Brandon P.L., WICopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Enticing from beginning to end. The trials and tribulations of these people and, how they suffered in order to feed their families while living in squalor, under inhumane conditions, being deliberately driven into continually worsening situations in an attempt to make them give up their own homes. It was eye-opening to see the fear of those people already living out west and how they used to humiliate, beat, kill, or run these people off public lands because of their own fears that these arriving immigrants could only extend bad conditions on them on 'their' own lands. Those in California were starting to believe the propaganda that these Oakie's were bad people looking to do harm, steal food, trespass and take jobs at their next destinations. Truth is they were not greedy, or out to harm anyone else, all they wanted was a fair chance to raise their families in peace and, without the pains of starvation, in lands with ample fruit and, meat that in many cases went to waste due shear meanness by the owner of these products. Their tenacity was incredible as they continued to move on in an attempt to save the themselves, their familes and, friend's from starvation, illness, and, homelessness by moving them all to these strange lands in the west with the empty promise of unlimited work for all; this belief died as quickly as it came about for those that started their long trek's to these new promised lands as they would discover along the way. This alone would have been enough to stop most families in their tracks but, not the Joad's............they continued to race toward a dream that was truly a nightmare even after being warned several times that there would not be any work there. These people were tricked and/or forced into giving up their lives by 'them', & 'they', never knowing who 'them' and 'they' really were. Were 'they' the land owners, the banks, the government.....................it seems that the leaders of this farming movement were very successful by keeping them living in ignorance as these scoundrels stole their lives out from under them...............they were helpless until the point of anger. There stories are much more coarse than those of today but...............there are still the 'they's' and 'them's' out there today that control our everyday lives...........we're not really sure who they are but we follow them..........their modern handbills are the media who continue to lead us astray many times. I found this story of history to be intriguing and even more so I was surprised how closely it still resembles the society we live in today in so many ways. Great book.

Mr. Steinbeck has an excellent way with words. I am repeatedly amazed by his knowledge (research?) of such diverse items as how to remove a piston and connecting rod from a 1925 Dodge automobile and the detail in spoken language that would have been used by someone from Oklahoma in the 1930's. It's a great read. No wonder schools have, through the ages, included it in required reading.

I am just finishing the book now. Skimmed most of it for school but now that I am at the end I really want to go back and read it word for word. I don't read much but I really enjoy the language because it is from the south a long long time ago.

Never seen the movie version but has a really unique but intriguing ending. Much sympathy for the Oklahoma migrants at that time - fear of change and acceptance of change brings out the best and worst in human beings.

I somehow got through my entire education without being forced to read this, so I came to it older and wiser than many people do, and found it to be an incredibly eye opening piece of writing, unveiling the background behind many things that are still visible in todays America.If you read this 15-20 years ago as a kid in school, its probably time to read it again, as maturity is one hell of a lens.

Deservedly a classic of American literature. The language is beautiful, with a certain rhythm at times. The message of human endurance and generosity even in the most extreme deprivation makes a sharp impact, especially when compared to the hatred and fear of Californians. It resonates especially now with all the international refugees. Everybody should read it.